Boston Red Sox: Ranking top 10 players from the 1980s
By Drew Athans
Bill Buckner
Bill Buckner is famous (or infamous) in Red Sox history for one play, but that doesn’t tell the story at all when it comes to the player he was. While he only spent five of his twenty-two seasons with the Red Sox, he was an integral part of the team and a huge reason why they even got to the 1986 World Series in the first place.
Buckner’s best years in Boston were the four he spent with the Red Sox from 1984 to 1987 (he came back in 1990 for the final year of his career). During those four years, he hit .279 with 47 home runs and 321 RBI. In 1986 he put up a line of a .267 average with 18 home runs and 102 RBI and was a big part of why the Red Sox won the pennant.
Knowledgeable Red Sox fans know that Buckner’s error in Game Six of the World Series was not the reason the team lost the game (and eventually the series). Bob Stanley, Rich Gedman, and Calvin Schiraldi (as well as manager John McNamara) were the goats of Game Six if such blame needs to be assigned. There was a reason the Red Sox traded for Buckner before the 1984 season and it was thanks to his contributions that the team was successful in 1986.